Thursday, December 27, 2007

Gakuen Alice (Alice Academy)


Alice Academy is the story of a 10-year old girl, Mikan Sakura, who is devastated when her best friend, Hotaru Imai, transfers to a special school for "genius" kids in Tokyo. After hearing horrible rumors of what happens in the Academy, Mikan runs away from home to seek out her dear friend, and finds that the school Hotaru transferred to, Alice Academy, is specifically for children who each have a special power called an "Alice". To Mikan's surprise, a teacher at Alice Academy, Narumi, discovers that she too has a unique Alice, leading to her admission into the school.

The story is primarily focused on Mikan and her experiences at the Academy, from the everyday bore of classes and exams, to the unexpected clashes with the Anti-Alice Organization (AAO). Despite her initial view of the so-called greatness of the school, Mikan slowly finds out that beneath the grand facade of the Academy lies a never ending stream of lies and deception.


Also, Mikan meets a boy named Natsume, whom she initially hates from the very start of the story, but would eventually start to like. And in turn he begins to form an interest in her. Along with the many friends she comes to make, including Natsume's best friend, Ruka Nogi, and the class representative, Yū Tobita a.k.a. Iinchō, Mikan comes to love the Academy and its teachers despite the truth that is built upon half-truths and lies. The story is primarily showing how if you believe in something it will happen and in the case of Mikan she changes the harsh world of the Academy for the better.

Main Characters

Mikan Sakura
Mikan Sakura
Mikan Sakura (Sakura Mikan) Voiced by: Kana Ueda
Mikan is the protagonist of the story. She is an energetic, good-natured girl, but is very clumsy. She has been friends with Hotaru since second grade, so when Hotaru left to the Alice Academy she became really depressed and decided to leave her grandfather and her home to go after Hotaru. She was then accepted to Alice Academy by Narumi-sensei and could attend Alice Academy with Hotaru and other children with extraordinary powers. Her "Alice" is nullification the Alice of others and Stealing, which is the reason why the Academy administration keeps an eye on her.


Hotaru Imai
Hotaru Imai
Hotaru Imai (Imai Hotaru) Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya
Hotaru Imai is Mikan's best friend. She is extremely intelligent and rational. During the story, though she may appear to be rather cold and indifferent on the surface, it is apparent that she genuinely cares for Mikan. She has the Alice of Invention, and during her time at the country with Mikan and her grandfather, she created many strange but useful inventions, often made to look like animals. She knows that Ruka has a crush on Mikan. She also knows who Mikan likes. Hotaru breaks the fourth wall by teaching the audience about her inventions. The other characters see her explaining her inventions to apparently no one.


Ruka (with his rabbit) sitting beside Natsume.
Ruka (with his rabbit) sitting beside Natsume.
Natsume Hyūga ( Hyūga Natsume) Voiced by: Romi Paku
Natsume is a child prodigy with the Flame Alice, and because of this is classified in the "dangerous abilities" class. It is also implied that he is used by adults in the school because of his ability, which results in his hatred for the academy and mistrust of the staff. While he is generally moody and silent, he maintains a very close friendship with Ruka Nogi and is both protective and kind in regard to him. Natsume also seems to form a crush on Mikan, who was designated as his partner by their homeroom teacher Narumi, and gets jealous of guys who act too close with her. He is the only one who has a Special Star Ranking in his class.

Ruka Nogi ( Nogi Ruka) Voiced by: Miwa Yasuda

Ruka is Natsume's childhood friend and often referred by Mikan throughout the story as "Ruka-pyon". He is a gentle and generous person, characteristics that balance out Natsume's personality. His animal pheromone Alice allows him to get crazy with animals, a fact that he is embarrassed and often blackmailed over. Despite this, he often carries a rabbit with him. He knows Natsume (his best friend) has a crush on Mikan, and he also has a crush on her. In episode 19, Ruka plays Snow White in a play and Mikan was forced to play the prince. But at the very end, her teacher told her to improvise and kiss him on the lips, just when they were about to kiss Natsume threw an apple at Mikan.


Narumi
Narumi
Narumi (Narumi-Sensei) Voiced by: Akira Ishida
Narumi is the homeroom teacher of Mikan's class (class B). He teaches Japanese and often deals with Natsume when he gets in trouble or tries to break out. He has the human pheromone Alice; he can make older people do what he wants by attracting them, but children pass out. Mikan calls Narumi "father" because she misses her grandfather so much. Narumi is too young to be called "grandfather" so he asked Mikan to call him "father." Later in the manga, it is found that he harbored unrequited feelings for Mikan's mother. It is proven that he is not Mikan's father, but he made a promise to Mikan's mother that he will take care of Mikan during her stay in the Academy. He is of course, concerned about Mikan and Natsume.
Opening Theme:
"Pikapika no taiyou" by Kana Ueda
Ending Theme:
"Shiawase no niji" by Kana Ueda and Rie Kugimiya

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